Tag Archives: detective

Dying to Get Published by Judy Fitzwater (1995) – BR00075 (1998) – 🐸🐸🐸⚪⚪

The PolyBlog
August 18 1998

Plot or Premise

The main character, as-yet-unpublished author Jennifer Marsh, decides to plan a murder in order to liven up her writing. A touch of realism, or writing what she knows by planning it. But when the murder really happens, her plans make her suspect number one.

What I Liked

It’s an easy, quick-paced story, and Jennifer is a bit quirky. Nice, occasionally a dingbat, she has her moments, but quirky. She has a new romantic interest that adds some fun to the story, and lots of female friends who are supportive. Plus, the victim is obviously deserving of murder — a book agent. In addition to being well-written, with great storylines, there were some seriously funny moments that made me smile repeatedly (people seem to frown on you laughing out loud when you are by yourself reading on buses or in restaurants, so I held myself to grinning).

What I Didn’t Like

The book was a little tough for me to get into at first, and I initially hated the main character who talks to her future, as yet unconceived, child on a fairly regular basis as a plot device.

Disclosure

I am not personal friends with the author, but I have interacted with them briefly on social media.

The Bottom Line

Liked it enough to get the next one in the series

The Closet Hanging by Tony Fennelly (1987) – BR00068 (1998) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸⚪

The PolyBlog
July 4 1998

Plot or Premise

The supposed suicide of a land developer is complicated by some details that suggest murder, and spells trouble for Sinclair since he was recently seen having a large argument with the deceased. Unfortunately for Matt, he can’t remember the details because they have been wiped out by an epileptic seizure and the developer is found in a building owned by Matt’s mother. Matt investigates, partly to find out for himself what really happened.

What I Liked

Better written than the first one, including a much better quality of appropriate humour and the extra characters from the mob are well done, adding some interesting albeit tiny twists.

What I Didn’t Like

Slightly more graphic than the first, the plot is somewhat convoluted, and there is too much attention paid to Matt’s personal life which is too far removed from the mystery. The ending is rather disappointing from such a good writer.

Disclosure

I am not personal friends with the author, but I have interacted briefly with them on social media.

The Bottom Line

Great writing and fast-paced story

1-900-DEAD by Tony Fennelly (1996) – BR00070 (1998) – 🐸🐸🐸⚪⚪

The PolyBlog
July 4 1998

Plot or Premise

Margo Fortier, gossip columnist and snoop extraordinaire, knows a recent murder victim, thus giving Margo another shot to write some real news. The victim was a fake psychic that Margo met in astrology class.

What I Liked

Margo’s relationship with Julian is refreshingly moved out of the house and into the outside world as Julian chauffeurs her around. I liked the novel despite the fact that I didn’t particularly care who-did-it, mostly because the behind-the-scenes look at the world of the psychics is so well done and interesting. There’s a cute little twist at the end as well. I also loved numerous little quotes that made me laugh out loud.

What I Didn’t Like

The plot is a little confusing at times trying to keep all the characters straight (no pun intended).

Disclosure

I am not personal friends with the author, but I have interacted with her on social media.

The Bottom Line

Well-written.

Murder in C Major by Sara Hoskinson Frommer (1986) – BR00076 (1998) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸⚪

The PolyBlog
July 3 1998

Plot or Premise

Joan Spencer, widowed, moves back to the town of Oliver with her son Andrew and joins the local orchestra in her spare time. The second week of rehearsals is marred by the death of an unpopular oboe player. Joan helps the police investigate the murder (big surprise!) and does a pretty good job of spotting essential clues.

What I Liked

The story is well-written, and the characters are nicely developed, including some hints of romance between Joan and the cop. Interesting was the switch between the two characters as the narrator — not quite third person, not quite first person and surprisingly well-executed in the writing. The story moves along fairly quickly and doesn’t drag.

What I Didn’t Like

Perhaps too many characters with too many motives and opportunities. Unfortunately for me, I figured out the ending far too far in advance as well as the reasons for it — and yet I still got the murderer wrong! (Missed it by that much!)

Disclosure

I am not personal friends with the author, but I have interacted with them briefly on social media.

The Bottom Line

A nice light read for a Sunday afternoon.

The Staked Goat by Jeremiah Healy (1986) – BR00037 (1998) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸

The PolyBlog
June 21 1998

Plot or Premise

John Cuddy is a former insurance investigator who lost his job when he started drinking too much following the death of his wife to cancer. A friend from Vietnam calls him up unexpectedly while visiting Boston, arranges to meet him for dinner and drinks, and misses the date only to show up dead the next morning. Cuddy smells a rat in the official story and sets out to help clear his friend’s name and help his family.

What I Liked

Well, I was supposed to be studying French today. I even promised myself I would spend the evening doing that. Then I made the mistake of wandering over to a bookstore and looking through the Mystery section to see if there was anything that leaped off the shelves at me. Jeremiah Healy’s “The Staked Goat” was feeling particularly restless and somehow not only forced itself off the shelf and into my hands, but also managed to take hold of my wallet and steer me to the register. That was, I think, somewhere around 5:00 p.m. Except for the time on the way to the diner and the time to walk home, I’ve been subjecting myself to the simply wonderful story contained within its covers ever since. I’m almost tempted to read it again over the next few days, s l o w l y this time, to see if there is anything I missed, and if not, just to savour it a while longer. In any event, a very enjoyable four hours.

I liked the very realistic portrayal of the friends — biting their tongues when they used idioms (“dead to the world”, etc), laughing occasionally, etc. But regardless of the fast-paced action after the visit to Pittsburgh, the part I loved the best was the portrayal of the gay couple. I lived with a gay male couple with about the same age discrepancy, who had been together for nineteen years, and it seemed like I was back in their kitchen having breakfast when I was reading the story.

What I Didn’t Like

I did wonder about the accuracy of some of the details surrounding “sitting shiva” for Al (i.e., a funeral on Saturday? Jewish Sabbath? I didn’t think that was kosher, no pun intended). But it did say at the start that Al didn’t go very often — hope that wasn’t a cop-out…could’ve been an interesting sub-area.

The Bottom Line

I was only going to read a little — and lost an entire evening!